The Cold Darkness
by LilyEclipse93
Summary: Daina was confused after he had his first nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

Hello There! I am have returned. You will going to experience the tragic, dark and disturbing fanfic. WARNING: This contains blood, vomiting, gore and suicide. If you find something terrifying, then skip it. So, enjoy, if you are brave enough to read this.

* * *

 **Daina's POV**

Hey. My name is Daina Kurogami. So... Um? Are you afraid? Because I am. What are you afraid of? Maybe you're afraid of being submerge in the ocean... with no way out of here. As sharks or piranhas are eating you? Really? You are? It will be horrifiying, you say? Alright, now I'm going to tell you what I'm afraid. *sighs* This is hard than I expected... But... I'm just going to say it anyway. *inhales and exhales* I had a nightmare every night. Every time I close my eyes, I see myself in the basement, with no windows, and doors... After I passed out... While... The music box play over and over and over again... And because I move closer to the rocking chair... Those bugs and cockroaches crawling all over a dead body. And I see... A evil version of me, standing behind a dead body.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The pain flickering behind its eyes... Dark and powerful... As I am... Until I can't look and had to force my gaze away... And it smile... I see the strain in its facade. Sick, black, cold and permanent... I... I can't erase it or what happened. So, to be honest, I was never afraid of the dark because of the stories anyone else told me. I've only ever been afraid... Because it was right. I had only been so terrified of another me, haunting me, I had thought that it was the darkness coming to get me for failing to uphold my side of a bargain. I had promised Valt and the others that I would hand over my fear in exchange for them to stop tormenting my dreams, and before that moment, I had been considering letting myself get taken in exchange for its safety. But I guess it was a joke that finally did it... Good for you, you instead got yourself taken by the monsters in the closet, my friend. Maybe it'll find a way to get back at me from beyond darkness, or maybe it's been digested in the monster's stomach, but all I know... Is that I'm still afraid of... Me.


	2. Chapter 2

**You'd still thought that everything you thought about that night, the shame, the fear would fade in time. But that had not happened. Instead, the things that you remembered, these little details, seemed to grow stronger, to the point where you could feel their weight in your chest. Nothing, however stuck with someone more than the memory of stepping into that dark room and what you found there, and how the light then took that nightmare and made it real. So, let us begin.**

* * *

 _"How does it make that sound?" Daina stared hypnotized by the gentle music caressing his ears. The small box before him let out a harmony that reminded him of angels. The warm body next to him grew closer, nuzzling up against him._

 _"I don't know the details myself," a younger boy's kindly voice swept through his ears as if the voice itself was trying to hug him. His voice was soft yet delicate, "But it's just like an instrument. Every piece is finely tuned, so that when a_ _cord is struck it plays a gentle note."_

 _"But it only plays one song…" Daina mused as he continued to stare, comforted by the warmth of the other with him. "And… it seems a little sad…" he rubbed his little brothers head._

 _"Yes, I suppose it does sound a little sad." The younger boy smiled warmly, he leaned his head against Daina's body, resting against it. The jet black haired boy chuckled a little as the hair tickled his face, before moving it out of the way to smile at the music box, "But this music box is very special... to us." The younger boy said cheerfully._

 _"…I like it." Daina smiled happily, closing his eyes as he listened, the melody softly flowing through his ears. He couldn't help but think it was beautiful._

 _"Please don't forget… that I love you…" The younger boy's voice grew quiet with those words._

 _"I know little guy… I love you too." Daina hugged his little brother happily. The younger boy grew quiet as he nuzzled against his big brother. There was a silence that filled the air, only being filled by the gentle and calming music from the box._

 _"…Souta?" Daina broke the silence, but it soon returned. The chimes of the music seemed to slow down, drawing out each individual note. "…Souta…" he called again, lifting his head up to try and look at his little brother. Souta had suddenly grown quiet._

 _"Hey… say something…" Daina pleaded, pushing against Souta, trying to get his attention. The little boy's body felt like it was growing colder, wobbling a bit before falling over. The younger boy lay on the floor, his hair looking like cobwebs on the ground, his skin growing decay, his unmoving form framed against the darkness of the ground._

 _"Souta!" Daina cried, wrapping his little brother in his arms as the music box continued to slow down, eac_ _h note ringing in his head that something was wrong. Daina moved his hands away from Souta and stared at his hands, his blood covered hands. The body of the poor little boy was withering away, blood escaping from underneath his body._

" _No... No... NO!" Daina cried as tears began to stream down his eyes, shaking his poor little brother's body to wake him, to tell him everything was alright. The music from the box died._

 _The body of the little boy turned to dust, as it vanished in the wind, leaving nothing but the blood that had been spilled._

 _Daina shook and sobbed softly, tears drenching his cheeks. He touched the blood stain on the floor, trying to feel any remaining heat that told him that Souta was still there._

 _The blood was cold, no sign of life to it._

 _The music box started to play music once more, but it no longer played the sad but beautiful song. The music box hissed a horrifying sound, as if bees suddenly filled the box. The jet black haired boy looked up into the darkness, terror filling his core._

 _Red eyes gleamed as a presence made itself known. It towered over him as it drew closer, its body cloaked in darkness. The darkness itself flickered and flowed off of its body, its face revealing a sick and twisted expression. The presence of the creature crushed him, he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he was paralyzed by the very thing that stood before him. With a single swift movement, the creature closed the distance._

 _"Haa... Brotherly love..." The demonic voice said in a haunting glee. "That poor thing ... You really have take care of him, shouldn't you? What a shame."_

 _It grabbed Daina's neck, lifting him up and holding him as if a prize. Tears continued to stream down his face, as the blood slipped down his body. The dark and evil version of Daina laughed, before dropping Daina on top of the dust of his little brother. Daina could do nothing but stare into the darkness of the world._

 _Even that darkness was soon fading, fading into a separate darkness._

 _Daina's vision was filled with another him. Its frown turned into a grin, as it once more, it smashed Daina in the face._

"NOOOOOO!" Daina awoke with a scream. He panted heavily as he sat, staring at his pillow in the darkness, the covers hanging on his shoulders, his body soaked in sweat. The cool night air filled his burning, aching lungs. He put a hand to his face, feeling the fresh tears that had been streaming from his face. He hiccuped softly as he tried to rub them away, still feeling fresh ones wanting freedom as well.

Something rustled under the covers next to him as he froze, turning as he heard the moan of something waking up.

"Another one?" Reo groaned, sitting up from his spot on the bed, rubbing his eyes. "How many is that now? At least ten…" he let out a yawn, obviously still not used to being woken up in the middle of the night constantly.

"I'm sorry…" Daina said quietly, closing his eyes shut as he desperately tried to hold back his tears, his body shaking. "I… keep waking you up… I shouldn't… have asked you to try and comfort me…" Daina stuttered his words, lumps forming in her throat as tears escaped her shut eye lids.

"Ugh." Reo put his hand to his face. He shifted on the bed, before wrapping his arm comfortingly around his friend. Daina looked down and sobbed softly. "Come on Daina, you should know by now that me sleeping isn't as important as you feeling better." Reo said quietly, lowering his head closer to Daina's. Daina didn't reply, only continuing with his soft sobs. "So me spending the last few nights here hasn't helped your nightmares, that's no big deal. It just shows us how serious this is." Reo said trying his best to offer comforting words, something he wasn't too used to.

Daina could only let out a sigh in response. The nightmare's terrified him, he was barely able to fall asleep anymore knowing they were waiting for him inside of his own mind. He didn't want to sleep anymore, he wanted to stay up and be rid of the dreams, but his body was exhausted, it demanded sleep, but his mind screamed to stay awake. The conflict inside him only brought out more tears.

Reo looked out into the darkness of Valt's room as he tried desperately to think of something to do or say. 'If only I was a smarter…' Reo thought to himself.

It was as if a light bulb had been turned on in Reo's mind.

"Hey Daina, in the morning lets go see Shu. I'm sure he can help with these nightmares, I mean he's got all in his head, I'm sure he'll have something that can help with this." Reo spoke eagerly but softly, making sure Daina heard him.

"..Do… do you really think… he can help?" Daina asked, managing to wipe his face as his sobs softened.

"Yeah, of course he can." Reo said in a cocky way but confidently, heroic grinning at Daina, "He's Shu, he's trains for days and becomes a strong blader! We'll get rid of these nightmares before you know it."

"…Thanks…" Daina smiled softly, the tears finally stopping.

"Hey, what's a friend for?" Reo grinned, giving a fist bump to Daina.

"…I still don't feel like sleeping though…" Daina said, staring at the pillow of his bed. It was still deep in the middle of the night.

"…Hmm…" Reo said in thought. He wasn't sure what to say for that. He looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it. He then let off a small shrug unintentionally as a thought rolled through his mind, 'I guess it's now or never then.'

"Wha?" Daina said confused as he looked down at Reo lying on Daina's legs, making a mimicking a white noise with his eyes closed.

"Don't worry; I'll take your mind off of those nightmares so you can finish resting." Reo whispered, then kept making a noise again.

Daina sweat dropped and smiled. "Yeah..."

* * *

 **It is so much better to end this dream before it becomes a nightmare.**

 **\- Lily Eclipse**


	3. Chapter 3

**You do** **know that a funeral is not a day in a lifetime, it is a lifetime in a day.**

* * *

In all her years as daddy's little girl, Kamiyu had never attended an event that was this sad.

Everyone had disregarded the dark and ragged grey clouds, donning robes and other articles of clothing that were pure black. Black tapestries had been affixed to all the buildings, including the library where the funeral was being held.

As Kamiyu had expected, her friends took it the hardest. The space directly in the front had been reserved for them.

Shu's eyes were red and swollen, his face tear streaked and his mouth set in a grim line.

Aunt Bekka just stared at the ground, the quiet plip of her tears falling on the ground the only thing breaking the silence.

Rantaro was just shaking his head, muttering to himself. "It couldn't have happened. It shouldn't have…"

Valt just seemed deflated, he wasn't crying or muttering to himself. He just stared straight ahead as the procession began.

Six men, garbed in black and eyes downcast, bore a black wooden casket upon their shoulders. Kamiyu herself was leading the procession, her head held high and her tears flowing freely. Seeing Valt, she detached herself from the procession and stood next to his side.

Gazing back ahead, she watched as the six men carefully lowered the casket to the ground. One of the six stepped forward, scratching at the ground nervously.

"Jerarudo was a role model to people everywhere…" he stuttered.

The boss instantly cut him off. "Go, before I break your legs in five different places," he growled, pointing in the distance.

The six men galloped off, fleeing as fast as their arms could carry them. The boss cursed under his breath, turning to face the gathered crowd.

"To say that we're the only one that lost a friend," he began, gesturing to the four grieving co-workers in the front, "would be selfish. Yesterday, all of... all of people - lost one of employee a man could ask for, in a storm that somehow wormed out of control."

The boss sniffed. "That man was intelligent beyond belief, always pursuing some business with his free time. I used to tease him constantly about being an egghead…" he paused, choking down a sob. "But he was always looking to help somebody, always willing to lend anybody that asked a hand."

A honest man gathered his hat from the ground and plodded up to stand next to the boss. As he set his hat upon the casket, he said quietly, "He th' only one that could've given me a run for my money in honesty. He may not've been the strongest man around, but he'd always be straight with ya."

Aunt Bekka joined her family. "He would always listen to you, no matter how trivial or meaningless what you were saying seemed. His ear was always a patient one, and he would always offer advice on how to help… he was the sweetest brother I've ever had."

Kamiyu just slowly walked towards the casket. In silence, she walked past the audience, walked past her friends, and just stood at the side of the casket.

"No matter what your personal opinion of my father was," she addressed the crowd slowly, "remember that he was an honest, loyal, and generous man. He was a sturdy father, a faithful husband, and a true family." She rested her hand on the casket before wrapping it in his heart, slowly floating it down into a six foot hole.

"Rest in peace, my faithful father."

* * *

The door swung open and her eyes met Shu's, and almost instantly he saw them start to well up.

"Hey, Shu." Kamiyu said, sounding unsurprised. "Please, come on in."

She stepped to the side and let him walk into her house. Immediately he noticed that she and Bekka were in the process of packing their things, and the house was practically bare save for a few windows and doors.

"Moving out right?" Shu said to her with a half-smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah." Kamiyu said, shifting her eyes from me to look around the room as she spoke. "I found someone who's going to buy all his property. Normally it would be too much but I gave them a great price. My mom and dad used to travel and see Europe since their wedding."

"Well, that was exciting!" Shu said, a little too enthusiastically. he saw the sadness creeping up on Kamiyu and continued on, changing the subject. "Kamiyu, I'm terribly sorry to hear about your dad. He was a very bright man."

This brought on the water works.

"He was." Kamiyu sobbed. "And I want to say thanks, Shu, that day when he left me, he called me and told me he felt better than he had in years. Thank you, Valt, Rantaro, Daina, Reo, Unmei, Isan and Diran, for giving me that one moment of having my dad back before I lost him for good."

Kamiyu started to cry. Shu looked around her house suspiciously, and his eyes found a photograph of a 5 year old Kamiyu, standing next to her tall broad shouldered father, Jerarudo, with a big smile, and his beautiful wife. He walked over to the photograph and picked it up out of its box.

"This must be your father, right?" Shu asked. Kamiyu looked up from sobbing and saw the photograph in his hands.

"Yeah." Kamiyu answered as she walked over. "That's my dad there, Lord he was handsome. And of course there's my mom."

A chill ran up his spine as she said her father's name. Something told me Kamiyu knew very little if not nothing about the dreams she was having. Shu looked down at the box he took the photograph from and saw a proposal to buy a property. he was about to look away when something caught his eye.

"Kamiyu, I thought all the property you owned was in the city?" Shu said, not lifting his eyes from the paper.

Kamiyu blinked at him for asking such an out-of-the-moment question.

"Well, yeah it is." Kamiyu answered, studying his face.

"Sorry it's just, I couldn't help but notice this proposal here, for a property in Sisuta town?" Kamiyu looked lost for a second and then he saw the memory hit her.

"Oh yes, that was a property my brother was looking into. He simply adored that house. I'm not too sure how he even found the place quite honestly. In fact, when he first started trained down there every other weekend I was all but sure he was having an affair, but when I asked if I could come with him he didn't put up a struggle at all." Bekka picked up the proposal and thumbed through the pages until she found a picture and handed it to him.

The house was huge and old, with big columns that framed the front of it, and a black gated fence surrounding the yard. The windows were too dark to see through but it looked to be two stories, only wide enough barely to fit in the picture. It looked a little run down but Shu could see why Jerarudo was interested in this house, it had potential to be absolutely gorgeous.

After looking over the picture for some time he finally spoke.

"And this house…" Shu began. "Are you selling this as well?"

"Why, no, we don't own it Shu." Kamiyu said, looking hurt by those words. "My dad passed before we could finish up the paper work. Such a shame too because the place was lovely."

Shu doesn't know why but his heart sank a little bit with this.

"But your dad visited there often, right before his death?" Shu asked.

"Yeah. Yeah he did." Kamiyu responded. "The funny thing is, dad was known for closing on properties quickly, sometimes too quickly." She said with a chuckle. "It was like he was afraid to finally go through with it."

Kamiyu watched him scrutinize the photograph of the house. "You look interested Shu." She said, the chuckle returning as well. "Are you looking to make a move as well? Or get into the real estate biz?"

"Maybe…" Shu said trailing off.

"Well tell you what. That whole box is full of information Jerarudo kept on that house, separated a bit amongst some other paperwork. I'm just gonna shred all this stuff so if you're interested help yourself."

It took Shu a bit to register what Bekka just said.

"Sure, yeah." he finally managed to push out. "That sounds great Mrs Shai, thank you."

Aunt Bekka picked up the box and slowly started walking to the door. Then she left the room.

"Say, just for curiousity's sake…" Shu started. "Who was the previous owner of the house?"

"Oh well it didn't have an owner, it wasn't in use when we viewed it." Kamiyu said. "Technically it's owned by the Bank of Sisuta Town. Before that, it was a school."

"A school huh?" Shu asked.

"Yep. If what the woman who showed us the property told us was true, it was the first all-black school in the whole state."

Shu stood there for a minute.

Thinking about how bizarre this whole thing was. Why was Jerarudo looking to buy an old run-down school in Sisuta Town? Why this one specifically? And why wouldn't he close on the property?

As Shu and Kamiyu turned to leave they heard Bekka call out.

"Oh, Kamiyu." She said. "One last thing."

"What's that?"

"I won't ask why– although I think I know– but if you're gonna walk around on the perfume, rose perfume."

She was startled.

"Sorry? What?"

"Rose, honey." She said. "It's easier to smell of beautiful scent of roses. That's what your mother used to do."

They left that old house feeling out of place. As if everything that just happened was a dream. They walked straight to Valt's. It was tough business at first. Kamiyu wasn't too adept at identifying real estate documents so she didn't quite know what she was looking at at first, but about an hour in she got the hang of it.

* * *

 **Everything you ever wanted, is one step outside of your comfort zone.**

 **-** **Lily Eclipse**


End file.
